Phenom Could Leave Lasting Impression

February 26, 2006|By Jon Heyman Newsday

PORT ST. LUCIE — Lastings Milledge was driving baseballs well over the left-field fence and out toward rustic Peacock Boulevard here the other day, flashing the power and potential everyone talks about but so few have seen.

Milledge belied his baby face and a birth certificate that swears he's nearly 21 (and even that looks like a stretch). The Mets phenom is finally here in the flesh, the one-in-a-million marvel living up to all the imaginations.

The select few who witnessed Milledge gushed about all the traits that make him one of baseball's most praised prospects. He may not be ready for this Opening Day, but one high-ranking Mets official said flatly, "He's our left fielder in 2007."

Milledge has only 793 minor league at-bats and 23 home runs, and his name already has been tied to Barry Zito and Manny Ramirez in trade talks. Milledge doesn't appear to have allowed that grapevine whisper to reach his head. Yet, he marveled, "When you're thrown in that group, you're somebody."

If he's thrown into a trade, there will be an outcry completely out of proportion to his modest accomplishments. Practically no one in New York knows anything beyond the stats and reviews. Yet, everyone craves to behold him.

If the Mets ever weaken, perhaps they should heed the words of one American League scout who trailed Milledge extensively throughout his amateur years at Lakewood Ranch High in Palmetto.

"This kid could be something special," that scout said.

Some see 40 stolen bases in his future. Others see 30 home runs.

One invoked the name Gary Sheffield as a comparison because of his bat speed. When Sheffield's name was relayed to Milledge, he demurred. "I just want to play the game and stay focused on the task at hand," Milledge said.

Playing in minor league outposts of Kingsport, Capital City, St. Lucie and Binghamton, Milledge may not realize how much of a somebody he is.

He does hint at a debt to the Mets for selecting him when 11 other teams passed, many based on an unsubstantiated incident with a girl while he was in high school.

"My character is always going to be questioned. It's unfair all the way around. But life isn't fair," Milledge said. "And you've got to take the negative and make it into a positive.

"I would like to stay here and play for the Mets. They were the ones who had all the faith in me."

That faith continues. There hasn't been a hint of a repeat of the reported earlier trouble, and General Manager Omar Minaya asserted, "I'm not going to pay attention to something he may have done when he was 14 years old."